Under the Surface
by Lily-liegh
Summary: On a business trip with Nii-sama, Mokuba tumbles over the edge of their boat and finds himself on a strange island with a boy named Noa. Getting onto the island was unfortunately too easy, but how are you supposed to get back? / Stepshipping


Mokuba had never been to America. He had, in fact, never been outside of Asia except for a few business trips where he'd accompanied Nii-sama. These were rare trips since Seto never liked leaving Japan and he didn't like going on pointless excursions to meet with tight-lipped businessmen in pressed suits and shimmering watches, when he could easily discuss the same information over the phone. Mokuba felt extremely grateful that Seto had decided to make the trip, and even more grateful that he'd brought Mokuba along.

Of course, he didn't think his nii-sama would ever leave him in Japan. They stuck together.

So, Mokuba found himself on a large cruise ship – their own private cruise ship, too – watching whales swim by their watercraft as they cruised through the Pacific Ocean. There was no land in sight, and the last boat they'd seen was two days ago and it had been a fishing boat. Mokuba found himself feeling slightly lost. The ocean was a lot bigger than he'd expected. He mused that this could've been because he'd never been on a cruise ship before. The last time he'd been out of Tokyo, he and Nii-sama had flown to South Korea and he'd slept the entire plane ride.

"Nii-sama, you're missing the view," he called over his shoulder. When Nii-sama only grunted in reply, Mokuba enticed him with, "There's even whales out right now and they're pretty big." No reply. Sighing, Mokuba kicked the rail of the ship. "I don't think you have to do work until we get to California, so you could probably get off your laptop and come over here."

This time it was Seto who sighed. "Mokuba, I'm busy. I will come look when I am done."

"They'll be gone by that time," Mokuba grumbled, but he doubted Nii-sama heard him. As it was, Nii-sama didn't even seem to want to look up from his work: He kept his eyes glued onto his laptop screen, irises moving from left to right as they followed hundreds of lines of coding.

Mokuba should have applauded his brother for his dedication and hard work. They were heading to Irvine, California to meet with fellow game nerds who had recently launched a new RTS game: _Warcraft: Orcs and Humans_. Both Nii-sama and Mokuba had heard the recent success of the game – and, naturally, Nii-sama was there to strike business deals and exchange ideas with the creators of the game. Right now, Mokuba supposed that Nii-sama was working on his own game, one that Mokuba believed surpassed anything that these boys could do. Mokuba wasn't supposed to say anything about it yet, but he knew that Seto was trying to create holograms for Magic & Wizards cards. The project was still in the work, but when they released their work it would stun everyone.

Growing bored, he dragged himself back to Nii-sama, trying to show his guiltiest expression.

"Don't tell me you're bored," Nii-sama chastised, not looking up from his work. "You're on vacation. Look happy."

"_We're _on vacation," Mokuba returned. He settled down next to his brother. Despite the breezy air, Mokuba was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, with his sunglasses on top of his head and blending in with his long, dark hair. Seto, on the other hand, was dressed in a business suit that looked tight and uncomfortable. His short, brown hair was combed back neatly into its usual style, with his bangs brushing the tops of his blue eyes. "If we're both on vacation, we should both look happy…and you don't look happy, Nii-sama."

"Neither do you."

Mokuba growled, but he sensed the playful, cheeky humor of his brother. "I'm not happy because you're not happy."

"Ah, now we're getting somewhere." Seto looked up from his work. His blue eyes were piercing, but they twitched ever so slightly, as though they wanted to crinkle in laughter. "So, how exactly will you amuse yourself on a private cruise ship with a pool and waterslide, a games room, a five star restaurant, and an indoor jungle gym? I wonder."

Even though Nii-sama's voice was mocking and could never quite reach a jocular tone, Mokuba still laughed. "You're mean, Nii-sama."

"And what should I do about that? Take a pill? Do some breathing activities?"

"_I _think you should come play with me," Mokuba said. Seto's eyebrows rose as he caught the trap. "Plus, because you were being mean to mean you ought to make it up – and I want you to play with me." And, before Nii-sama could open his mouth to retort, Mokuba grabbed his hand and pulled his brother, six feet and all, out of his chair and into one of the rooms. Mokuba knew that his brother was letting him lead him around, so he dragged him through the various hallways until he reached one on the starboard side of the side: the games room.

Seto had yet to say anything; he stopped at the door, looking around with mild disinterest. "We make and play games every day, Mokuba, and now that we're on vacation you want to do the same thing?"

Mokuba, now standing before a floor-to-ceiling TV and getting the PlayStation hooked up, laughed. "I want to play games with you, Nii-sama. I always have to play by myself." He plugged in two controllers, started up the console, and turned on the TV. "We don't get to play together anymore. Now that we're on vacation, you should relax."

This time it was Nii-sama who laughed. "And you think I should relax by playing video games with you?"

The Ridge Racer title screen appeared on the TV and Mokuba smiled. "I think so," he said pertly. "Now, you go sit and I'll bring you back some food and water. You'll need some comfort food after I beat you."

"Oh, really?" Seto called out as Mokuba headed to the kitchen. "We'll see about that."

With the challenge in mind, Mokuba headed down the hallway. On his way to the kitchen he stopped outside to peer over the railings. The sea was churning much faster than before, and all the whales and dolphins had descended beneath the waves. Leaning closer over the edge, Mokuba hoped to spot them swimming underneath, but the water was just too dark. He could see flashes of color, possibly from fish, underneath the waves, yet –

The boat rocked violently. His small hands scrabbled against the rails, which were slick with water, but he couldn't hold on. He managed one loud yelp before he went head-first over the rails and into the water. He didn't remember hitting the waves or anything below. His vision had gone black and the world deathly still. Scared, Mokuba tried to crawl up, swim up, get out of the ominous darkness that had crept into his vision and swallowed him whole. Only, he was stuck. Air began to leave his lungs in rapid breaths, but it never returned. His head became lighter than a feather. Finally, he closed his eyes, giving up.

When he woke up, it was warmer and crisper than Mokuba remembered. He was also lying on grass, something that the boy hadn't seen in a few days since being at sea. It was this thought that woke him up from his drowsy stupor. Mokuba sat up quickly, looking around like a caged animal. There were trees and grass and rolling hills, none of which Mokuba had seen while on the ship. He knew they hadn't landed yet. He was certain of it. If he had, then… Where was Nii-sama? Mokuba looked around again. Nii-sama was nowhere to be found.

"… Nii-sama?" he called out softly. Then, much louder: "Nii-sama, where are you?" There was no answer. There didn't seem to be anyone else around: no animals nor people in sight. Mokuba felt panic rise up in him, but he quelled it like his nii-sama did. He needed to be strong. He didn't need Nii-sama all the time. He was probably just dreaming and needed to wake up. Yes, he was dreaming. Mokuba quickly pinched the skin on his arm as tight as he could, biting his lip against the pain.

After a few minutes, there was a nasty bruise and Mokuba was still in the area. He counted the idea off as stupid. Mokuba now tried to assume another idea: He was shipwrecked on a tropical island. This island, while not as tropical as Madagascar, was lush and bright. There was the slight dilemma that Mokuba could not be shipwrecked because he was lying _on grass _and there was no water in sight, but he tried to assure himself that this was the best option. He slowly got to his feet; he'd expected his limbs to be sore from being thrown about the waves, but there were no aches or pains in his body. In fact, his clothes weren't even wet or in tatters. He was still dressed in his shorts and t-shirt, and his sunglasses were placed on top of his head.

Screw the shipwreck idea. His sunglasses would've fallen off if he was in the water. With no plausible reason for how he got there, Mokuba set off to the left. Even if he didn't know where he was, he knew the best idea was to scout out the area and look for water and civilization… Hopefully, these two would come together.

Going left had taken Mokuba through a thick forest with tall, skyscraping trees. While these trees intimidated him slightly, it hadn't taken him more than a minute to find a path that weaved its way through the forest. Mokuba took this as a positive sign for civilization. The path was fresh and looked recently used, without a single vine ripping through the soft ground. Mokuba followed this path for a while, humming to himself. His hands trembled in his pockets, but he refused to show any signs of weakness. Nii-sama was strong, and he was strong, and he would see Nii-sama soon. Those thoughts were enough to keep him sane. Right now, Nii-sama was probably calling all his references and every police department in the world. His name and face would be all over the news in seconds: Kaiba-sama's otouto lost at sea.

The thoughts brought a small skip into his step, and Mokuba tried to think positively as he followed the path through the forest. He'd probably get out of here any minute now. If this was a dream – which the idea sounded bizarre, but maybe pinching himself wouldn't work on this kind of dream – then he would just wake up. If it turned out that he was shipwrecked on a foreign island – another bizarre idea – then he would just need to find civilization, or find a way to make fire so he could create a signal that passing ships or planes would see. He certainly wouldn't die on this island. He was smart enough to find food and shelter, and to stay away from dangerous plants and animals that could possibly injure or kill him.

Sure enough, luck seemed to be on Mokuba's side. As he was walking, he looked to the right and gasped. There, nestled within the trees, was a large mansion. Ivy clung and crawled up the sides and dipped into the cracks on its plaster walls. The doors and windows were shut and bolted, yet the glass was cracked and the wood was chipped. The house itself was hidden behind a tall, wrought-iron gate and fence. Its courtyard separated the house from the fence; it was decorated with small shrubs and it looked uninhibited, but as Mokuba listened closely he could hear a faint _plonk! _coming from inside the house. Curiosity bubbled up inside of Mokuba. If there were people in there, he could ask them for directions.

"Hello," Mokuba called out. He cleared his throat, then said, "Hey! Open up! I can hear you in there." The _plonk! _noise stopped. Mokuba held his breath, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, he mentally slapped himself. Perhaps the person couldn't hear him from in there. Loudly, he rapped his knuckles against the metal of the fence. "Hey!" he shouted. This time, the gate swung open, letting Mokuba follow the stone path to the front steps. There he was greeted by another set of doors which opened on their open. Mokuba tried not to feel anxious by this mystical behavior. Doors could open on their own, right?

Like the outside of the house, the inside was ruined. The paint on the walls was chipped and cracked, with its scraps falling onto a dusty floor. In essence, everything in the house was hidden under a layer of thick dust. The owner of the house seemed to have tried to care for the old house by hangings scrolls and paintings on the walls to hide to chips and cracks, laying decorate rugs on the floors to hide stains and holes, and decorating the dirty furniture with bright accessories – yet it all seemed to go to waste when the amount of dust in the room could make a maid faint.

Mokuba coughed and brought the corner of his sleeve over his nose. He began to wonder how someone could live in this filth. He _had _heard someone in here. He wasn't crazy. "Hello," he called out again. His voice was muffled by his sleeve, but the sound still elicited a response: Mokuba heard footsteps coming from a hallway to the left.

These footsteps belonged to a boy around Mokuba's age. He had short, blue-green hair with bangs just a shade lighter. The boy had his hands tucked inside the pockets of his pants, which were as white as the clouds and trimmed with the same purple. Unlike Mokuba, who was shaking on the spot at the sight of another person, this boy seemed uninterested. "What're you doing here?" he asked, bouncing a small, blue bouncy ball on the floor. It made a _plonk! _noise. He didn't step up closer to Mokuba and kept the distance between them.

"I'm… I'm lost," Mokuba said after a moment. "What're you doing here?"

"I live here," the boy said haughtily. He pocketed the ball and took a few steps forward to close the distance between them. He was the same height as Mokuba, and the boy wondered how he could be so frightened by someone who couldn't even look down upon him. Yet, Mokuba was a Kaiba, and a Kaiba was strong. He stuck his chin out like Nii-sama did and faced the boy with a stern expression.

"How come I'm here? How come we're the only ones here?"

The boy frowned. "I don't know why you're here, but I can tell you where we are."

"And that would be?"

"Heaven."

Mokuba swallowed. "H…heaven? I'm dead?"

"Well, actually that's a lie." Mokuba almost felt like punching the boy. "You're dead, but you're not in Heaven. You're in the middle." The boy frowned, as though trying to make sense of his own words. "You probably have seven days left to live here before your body actually dies and you can't wake up."

"So I'm trapped here?" Mokuba's voice took on a painful note. He didn't want to think of dying. Dying meant that he would never see Nii-sama again. It would mean that Nii-sama wouldn't get to make the business deals with Blizzard Entertainment and fund a new project using holograms. Nii-sama would have to go back to Japan to bury his body…and then he'd be depressed and, maybe, he'd never work on his project. Mokuba wouldn't get to see Kaiba Corp. prosper. He wiped the tears from his eyes and sniffed. He would never get to see Nii-sama again.

"I said you have seven days to live," the boy mumbled.

Mokuba sniffled and wiped at his eyes. "Can you help me get back?"

The boy didn't look at him. "Maybe…"

That seemed like a good enough response for Mokuba. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them, any sign of sorrow was gone. "My name's Mokuba," he offered. When the boy gave him an odd look, he sneered, "You might as well call me something. I don't want to keep thinking of you as 'the boy'."

The boy rolled his eyes. "Fine. You can call me Noa."

Mokuba grinned. "So, Noa, how do we get off this island?"

Noa was silent for a moment. Then, in a flash, he grabbed Mokuba's hand. What Mokuba had expected was a pull, but instead it seemed to be a tug from _inside _him. He tried to fight the pull, but before he could try he was lying on his back and Noa was peering at him with narrowed, blue eyes. "You might want to get up," he muttered.

"Sorry I didn't expect it," Mokuba snapped back. He got up and brushed the dust from his legs and arms before looking around. Noa seemed to have…teleported…him to a different part of the house. The dust seemed to have reached even this area of the house, but the wear in this area was even worse. The drapes sported some nasty claws marks that looked as though they belonged to a rabid animal. There were tall, floor-to-ceiling bookcases overflowing with tomes from eons ago. These books, unfortunately, showed signs of wear and tear, from the ripped pages and book covers, to the caked dust on their tops, to the mangled state in which they laid on the shelf. Mokuba felt sad to see books treated in such a way.

"Come here," Noa said. Mokuba looked up. Noa was sitting on a dusty couch, holding a large, beaten book. When Mokuba approached he blew the dust off the cover and into the other boy's face, causing Mokuba to cough and sneeze. "Now," Noa began with a pompous air to his voice, "I could just tell you how to get back home, but you probably wouldn't understand. So, I'll show you the book I found a few years ago. It tells you how to get back."

Mokuba settled down on the couch next to Noa. The book's cover was decorated with gold swirls that accented its bold title: LIMBO. "What's limbo?" he asked.

"I was going to explain that," Noa snapped. "Now, we're in limbo right now. It means that we're stuck in between Heaven and Hell, and we can't really go anywhere until we truly die. There are two ways to get out of limbo: you can way seven days and then your soul will go somewhere –"

"Where's somewhere?" Mokuba interrupted.

"– Or you can try to escape limbo and return to your body and life a long and happy life," Noa concluded. He looked at Mokuba in a way a teenager would look at a snotty-nosed kid: with contempt and tetchiness. "Those are your two options. I promised that I would get you back to the real world and I'll stick by that promise. If you really want to go back, I'll take you. Your body's not dead or anything… Time has stopped while your make your decision."

"I want to go back," Mokuba said quickly.

"Got someone important back there?" Noa teased.

"My nii-sama," Mokuba said proudly. He wasn't going to hide that from Noa. He was proud of his nii-sama and what they'd accomplished. He wasn't sure he could ever thank Nii-sama for what he'd done: cheating in a game of chess against Gozaburo Kaiba in order for them to be adopted, and then surviving the rigorous years of torture under that demon's reign until they overthrew him. Mokuba had certainly received the weaker end of Gozaburo's punishment, yet he knew that it was what Nii-sama had wanted for him. Nii-sama was protecting him from Gozaburo.

"Well your nii-sama had better be good enough then. You're not getting over to the living world easily."

"Nii-sama is everything to me," Mokuba snapped. "I'll do anything to see him again."

"OK, chill," Noa growled. "Now, the only way to get off this island is by boat. You have seven days to build a boat that will survive the flood to come. The boat has some specifics here, on this page –" he pointed a finger at drawings of different angles of a boat, with marginalia that described the length, width, height, and even color of the boat "– and here's a list of all the materials we'll need. Thankfully, this island is made to build this boat. Those big trees out there are cedar trees. In the basement are about a hundred cans of pitch, with which we'll use to paint the boat. There are a bunch of other tools in the basement, too: hammer, nails, measuring tapes." Noa smiled slightly. "I've never gotten to build a boat before."

Mokuba wanted to ask Noa why he was here and not in Heaven or Hell, but he found that question rude and kept it to himself. He nodded as Noa rattled off the lists of things they would need. When the boy was done, Mokuba asked, "Can we build a boat like this in seven days?"

"Sure we can. That's why it's in this book: so someone can build a boat and go back home." Noa shrugged. "I mean, it's not easy. There are probably lots of people who've failed, either because they were too lazy to do the work or they messed up and didn't prepare it properly. The good news is that we have the book with us, so we're gonna do it right and get you back home."

Noa's words somehow made the situation seem a little lighter and Mokuba even smiled. "OK, Noa. Where do we start?"

The next few days were an uncharacteristic blur to Mokuba. He was used to a busy schedule since Nii-sama was always on business trips or conference meetings around Japan, but Mokuba himself had never been busy during these times. Now he was running up and down the stairs of the dusty, old house, carrying two-by-fours out the door and to the courtyard. He and Noa had agreed that they would build the boat out front of the house. When the flood came and washed everything away, their boat would sail away and Mokuba and Noa would return home.

This, lamentably, was not as easy as it sounded. The first day was spent carrying beams, nails, pitch, and toolboxes up from the basement to the courtyard. Mokuba and Noa's arms had been so sore that they'd collapsed on the grass by sunrise and looked at the colors for over an hour before either of them made any movement towards the house. Mokuba had learned on that day that even though he was dead he still felt all his human tendencies: he was still hungry and thirsty, he still sweated, and he still had to take bathroom breaks. Noa had laughed at him when Mokuba had explained his reasoning to him.

"I didn't know I wasn't _really _dead! How am I supposed to understand all this weird ghost stuff? I've only been in limbo for a day!"

After that, the work had gotten slightly better. Mokuba had enjoyed setting up the beams and using pulleys to get the frame in place. Noa was surprisingly good at building the boat; he worked with practiced hands as he nailed the boards together. When Mokuba had asked him why he was so good at this, he replied, "I've done this before."

"You mean you've built things like this before, or you've built this boat before?"

He never got an answer.

Once they'd gotten the frame built, they began building the interior. Mokuba didn't understand why the ship needed to have floors, but Noa had explained that they had to build the boat exactly like the book explained or else the sea would break it and Mokuba would never get to see his Nii-sama again. With this thought hanging over their heads like an ominous, black cloud, they worked harder than ever to perfect the boat. They added the three floors to the interior and added a skylight on the roof; they made sure that the dimensions of the boat were exactly as the book requested: 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, 30 cubits high. They even added the entrance to the side, which Noa justified by saying, "If the boat dives headfirst into waves, water's less likely to enter the boat through a side entrance."

Slowly, the boat began to look more like a boat. It gained strength from the work and sweat they'd put into it. Mokuba enjoyed painting the boat with pitch – even if it was a stinky job and it took an hour to scrub off of his skin – but his favorite part was being with Noa. The boy's tetchy, supercilious behavior grated on Mokuba's nerves, yet he liked hearing Noa talk about where he'd been and what he'd seen. It made Mokuba curious about the other boy: Noa knew how to play the piano, he knew about all these foreign countries, and the only person Mokuba knew who could be smarter than the prodigious boy was his Nii-sama…yet Noa was just a kid. How had one kid managed to do all that?

But Mokuba didn't ask. He'd learned over the days spent with Noa that the boy would shut down if someone pried too much into his personal life. Mokuba himself understood this feeling: The media was always trying to get the latest snoop about him and Seto. In return for Noa's openness, Mokuba told Noa a bit about Seto and their company. Noa seemed genuinely interested about Mokuba's life. He especially enjoyed hearing stories about Mokuba's adventures with his cold-hearted brother.

"Everyone says my brother is heartless, but he's just careful. He looks out for me," Mokuba said proudly one night as he and Noa sat on the steps of the mansion. The sun had recently set and the sky tinkled with bright stars. It had been five days since he and Noa had started building the boat. The ship was nearly done. There were a few last-minute changes that would need to be completed before the flood, but the frame was finished and painted.

"Your brother sounds really nice," Noa mumbled. "I'm an only child, so I don't really understand sibling relationships… But, right now as you tell me these stories, I kind of wish I had a Nii-sama likes yours. He sounds pretty cool."

"Seto-nii-sama is really cool," Mokuba agreed.

They lapsed into silence but it wasn't awkward. They both looked at the stars. Then, quietly, Noa sighed. "Why don't you ever talk about your early life?"

Mokuba stiffened. "Why don't you ever talk about yours?" he retorted. He didn't mean to seem so harsh.

"I was just asking," Noa growled, anger rising as well. "You just… You've told me all these great stories, Mokuba, but they're all from the past two or three years. You haven't said anything about being a little kid –"

"I still am a little kid," Mokuba snapped back.

"But why won't you talk about your past?"

Mokuba stood up. He balled his hands in fists. "Why should I? You haven't told me much either. You won't tell me why you're here, why you haven't passed on. It doesn't sound like you've just arrived here like I have – you've been here for a while! So before you start snapping at me for being personal and keeping things from you, think about what you're keeping from me!" Furious, he stomped away. He expected Noa to latch onto his arm and tell him to come back, but the other boy never grabbed his arm. This only made Mokuba want to cry harder.

It had been a stupid idea to storm away into a dark forest when Mokuba still wasn't entirely clear where he was, but at the time he'd been too angry to care. Now, surrounded by sinister trees whose branches cast shadows that appeared to be monsters on the damp ground, Mokuba felt foolish. He should've went into the house instead of losing his temper and going away. He was absolutely lost in this forest. He almost felt like crying would make him feel better, but thought better of it.

He was mad at Noa. That hadn't changed. Noa was being secretive – and he was, too – and they'd clashed. But, in Mokuba's opinion, he didn't think Noa deserved to hear what he and Seto-nii-sama had gone through. Even Mokuba didn't want to recall those horrible days under the wing of Gozaburo Kaiba: those dark, lonely nights where Mokuba had gone to sleep in a plush bed; when all he really wished for was to be with his nii-sama. At the time he'd never understood why he wasn't allowed to see Nii-sama… He knew. There were a lot of things that Mokuba hadn't understood about the relationship between Nii-sama and their adoptive father.

And Noa wanted to be nosy and pry into their private life! It was private for a reason. Even the media didn't know the true story of their childhood. Nii-sama was extremely protective of that information. No psychologist would be able to see past their cold exteriors and read into the dark tale of the Kaiba brothers.

Mokuba pulled his legs up to his chest and tucked his chin between them. He wished he and Noa hadn't fought. If he hadn't been so nosy, they might've gotten along quite well. Mokuba enjoyed Noa: he reminded him of Nii-sama, sometimes. Noa was smart and had a certain philosophical air to him that betrayed his young age and face. He could've sat for hours listening to Noa contemplate the norms of society, the strange presumptions that people made with their flawed judgment. He wanted to sit on the steps of the decrepit mansion and listen to Noa play the violin – something that Noa had promised him before the flood – and fall asleep to the lulling sound of Noa's voice.

There had been a hole in Mokuba's heart since being separated with Nii-sama, but while the place could never be filled by anyone else, the loneliness had been sucked away by Noa. The boy could not be Nii-sama, but he could be a friend. There would always be a place in his heart for Noa.

A sob crept its way up Mokuba's throat. He wanted Noa back. He wanted to see the green-haired, preppy boy again and hear his sarcastic voice tell him, "Well, that wasn't a good idea, now was it?"

Gingerly, Mokuba got to his feet. It had gotten too dark for the child to see in front of him, yet he took small steps and kept his arms out in front of him. He maneuvered his way through the forest until he caught sight of a flickering light in the distance. It was bobbing slightly, looking like it was floating in the air. Mokuba almost screamed in fright, thinking it was a ghost. Then he heard the voice: "Mokuba? Is that you?"

He wanted to cry. "Noa?" Mokuba called back. The light bobbed faster and Mokuba didn't have time to react before two arms threw themselves over his shoulders and he was brought in a tight, fierce hug. Mokuba shakily brought his arms up to wrap around the other boy, unaccustomed to the gesture. "Noa, you found me," he whispered.

"I couldn't leave you behind," the other boy said quickly.

Noa hugged him tighter before letting him go. His torch flickered and illuminated his face; he, too, had held back his tears, but they made his eyes glossy. "Promise me you won't do that again. I… I didn't mean to pry. That was wrong." Guiltily, Noa looked at his feet.

"I shouldn't have been that defensive," Mokuba mumbled back. "I just ‒"

"I understand," Noa replied before he could continue. "We all have our secrets. It's OK for them to stay that way."

Mokuba smiled. "We should head back before something out here eats us," he said with a nervous laugh. He made to walk, but suddenly turned around and looked back at Noa. "Hey, thanks for coming back for me. I didn't think you would."

Noa looked taken aback, but tried to mask the emotion with a casual shrug. He tucked his hand in his pocket and walked ahead, using the torch to help him find the dirt path back to the mansion. As he passed by, he said over his shoulder, "As I told you before: I couldn't leave you behind."

On the night before the flood, Mokuba saw the clouds turn a nasty shade of grey and begin to swirl in the air. He stood at the broken window, peering through a hole in the glass. The weather had gotten progressively worse throughout the day; now it was nearing a storm. He put his hand to the glass and felt the cold under his palm. Worriedly, he wondered if the boat would survive the storm. It had been finished that afternoon. The pitch had been painted on every surface they could find and every loose nail had been tacked into place. Noa had said they didn't need to bring anything on the boat, as Mokuba would just wake up if they survived the storm.

The thought still worried him. Mokuba wished they could bring rope to tie themselves to the boat in case the fell off, or buckets if water got into the boat. Noa hadn't seemed troubled by either.

They'd gone to bed on the plank of the boat, lying amongst the billions of stars that dazzled the cloudless sky. Mokuba had never felt so calm in his life without his Nii-sama. He knew he'd see him again, his nii-sama. When they got back to a normal, regular life with no floods or boats or old mansions, Mokuba would bring Noa to Nii-sama. He'd tell him that it was because of Noa that they survived. He thought Noa and Seto-nii-sama would get along well: they were both logical thinkers who planned ahead instead of living in the moment.

Maybe that was why Mokuba hadn't felt so alone that past week. Noa was too much like his brother; he even resembled him a bit, with the way his hair was arranged on top his head and how his bangs just grazed his eyes that held the same, calculation expression.

Mokuba reached out and lightly touched Noa's hand. He could hear the swell of the waves and they made his heart beat faster. A cool rain began to descend from the heavens and pelt the two boys with all its force. Thunder rolled ahead and lightning lit the clouds with an ethereal glow; it grew louder and faster, until the boat suddenly was rocked to the side by a heavy wind. Mokuba sat up quickly and ran to the side of the boat to look over the edge. The water was fast approaching as it came over the trees in large, monstrous rolls.

"Time to go home," Noa whispered in his ear. They took each other's hands to keep them on the boat, a feeling that made Mokuba calm and relaxed. He took a deep breath as the boat was rocked by another strong gust of wind. The wind was getting faster and the noises were getting louder and the light – the bright, heavenly light – descended upon the earth.

Then the boat was thrown to the side, and Mokuba knew that the water had arrived. He couldn't help but scream as the boat was thrown to the left and he and Noa went tumbling across the plank. There was nothing to grab onto and Mokuba screamed for help, but he felt Noa's gentle hand squeeze his and he tried to relax. The rain pelted him with all its might, soaking his dark hair to his face. He could barely see Noa except for when the lightning struck the water and lit up the disastrous scene.

Even though it was too dark, Mokuba knew from the sounds that the boat was crashing over the forest. He could hear the snapping of a thousand trees under the boats large bilge. It sounded like the thunder overhead.

Mokuba called out Noa's name a hundred times, but the noises were too loud for the other boy to hear. Yet, Mokuba never let go of Noa's hand. They were tossed from one end of the ship to the other, nearly tumbling over the edge at times – and yet they held onto each other so tightly that not even death itself could pull them apart.

The storm continued to brew for hours. Mokuba began to feel seasick after minutes of being in the tempestuous waters. He closed his eyes and held tight to Noa's hand. Then the light began to grow, and Mokuba found it odd because he knew his eyes were closed. He wanted to open them to see if maybe a bolt of lightning had landed inches away from his face, but he was too scared to.

"Noa!" he shouted. Like before, he received no reply. Carefully, Mokuba opened his eyes open into tiny slits. He could see that the entire deck was bathed in a holy glow, and that this glow was coming from something not a few feet away. Mokuba screamed loudly. There was lightning on the ship. He tightened his grip on Noa's hand and pulled the boy away roughly.

But Noa didn't move. As Mokuba's eyes focused from the heavy rain, the boy realized that the light was coming _from_ Noa. The boy's clothes had been stripped away and he was glowing in the middle of the deck. He was still holding Mokuba's hand, but he didn't seem aware of this. Slowly, Noa looked up at Mokuba and smiled.

"We made it," he said. His voice hadn't changed: it still sounded like he knew more than Mokuba. "We're almost there."

Mokuba's eyes widened and he looked around. The rain, the thunder, the lightning, the water – it was all gone. Their ship that they had built with their small hands was now floating in what seemed to be a sea of clouds. "A-are you sure?" Mokuba asked. He thought the new surroundings looked suspiciously like Heaven.

"I'm sure," Noa confirmed. He pulled Mokuba forward, until the two of them were standing in front of each other, one hand still holding on to the other's. "We've made it back home. You can go back to your nii-sama."

There was a moment of awe – then Mokuba's face broke into a grin and he laughed. "Noa, we did it!" he cheered. "We made it back. We're… We're back home! Oh, Noa, we did it! We have to – we have to find Nii-sama. You'll want to meet him. He'll probably be all cold and serious, but I think he'll warm up to you once he figures out your IQ." Then, Mokuba settled down. "We're back," he said softly. "We survived."

Noa nodded. "You can go back to your nii-sama now."

Mokuba nodded happily, before a cold realization dawned on him, He swallowed hard. "What you do mean? Aren't you coming with me? Or do you need to find your family first."

There was a pregnant silence. "I can't go back, Mokuba. I've already died and gone to the other side. I can't go back with you."

"But – but how were you there?"

"This is a dream, Mokuba. You've been dreaming this whole time. That house you were in: it's your old home from when you were a kid…when you lived with Gozaburo Kaiba. The surrounding forests are from your earlier childhood, where you used to play in the trees with Seto before your father passed away. All these trees, noises, sounds from the boat; it's the sound of the water inside you… And now it's gone. You'll wake up any moment now. You almost drowned, Mokuba Kaiba, but you're going to live."

Mokuba felt like crying. "You… You knew about me?"

"I'm a figment of your imagination, Mokuba. I've known for a while." Gently, Noa squeezed Mokuba's hand. "They're pulling you out of the water right now. I don't have much time." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a white flower and tucked it into Mokuba's hand. "Don't forget me, OK? I'll always be here."

Mokuba jumped forward to grab Noa, but the boy flickered and his light went out. There was a moment of darkness in Mokuba's vision before light exploded in his eyes and Mokuba came to with a gasp and a heave. He coughed and choked on the water in this throat; his vision was too blurry to make any shapes, but he could hear Nii-sama's panicked voice and he felt Nii-sama's hand on his. It felt like Noa's. As his vision cleared, Mokuba noticed that it was dark at night and he was lying on the deck of a boat. There were four paramedics huddled around him: one holding two defibrillator pads; the other three going through a small first aid kit.

A few feet away was Nii-sama. He had his arm outstretched to hold onto Mokuba's clammy hand. He was saying words too fast for Mokuba to hear, but Mokuba knew they were nice words. He gave his nii-sama a tired smile to tell him that he was OK. With his other hand Mokuba brushed the water from his eyes. That was when he noticed the white flower, tucked between his wet, cold palm, and he felt the emotions bubble up in him. He looked around desperately for Noa, but knew that the boy would not be coming back.

Noa was merely a dream – but he was a dream that would never fade.


End file.
